Wheeling University Volleyball team (3-4, 0-0) is hosting a tournament on their home floor. They kicked off the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) / Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover event when they hosted Gannon in non-conference action. The Golden Knights came out swinging and, despite several comeback attempts from the Cardinals, they would end up falling 3-0 to start their weekend.
In set one, the Golden Knights went on the attack right away, scoring six of the first eight points to start the night. A pair of service errors would account for the only two Cardinal points during the run, but Gannon wasn't done piling on yet. After the Cardinals got back to within 6-4, Gannon would once again take off, this time on a 14-2 run as the first set score grew to 20-6 in favor of the Golden Knights. The Cardinals would call a pair of timeouts to regroup, and were able to get into double digits before Gannon brought up set point at 24-10. A Gannon setting error would put the ball back in the Cardinal's court and they would hit a run to stay alive. Â Isabella Faro would take the server's box and led her team on a 9-0 run that made it 24-20 with set point still sitting with the Golden Knights. Autumn King would knock down three kills during the run, but the magical run came to an end on a Carlee Weber kill. Gannon took the set 25-20, but Wheeling was looking to build off their momentum in the second set.
Initially, that momentum would carry over, with Camryn Matus knocking down a kill and Kendall Kupper added a pair of service aces over the first four points. Wheeling would end up hitting a 7-2 run to start the set, with Matus knocking down two kills and the team totaling four service aces during the run. However, Gannon would once again work their way back into the set, hitting a 7-1 run to  flip the scoreboard to 9-8 in the Golden Knights favor. The teams would go blow for blow in the middle of the set, with a Katie Wilking kill giving Wheeling the slight advantage at 16-15. Gannon would get a little opening, scoring three straight points to create the separation, but Wheeling had three points of their own capped off by a Mara McDougal service ace in response. The Cardinals would lead 19-18, before six of the next nine points went to Gannon. The Golden Knights held set point at 24-22, And an attack error kept the Cardinals alive before Gannon notched the final point on a Sydney Wake kill. Gannon would take the set 25-23 and took a 2-0 lead into the third set with the Cardinals looking to rebound.
With their backs against the wall, King and Matus would pick up an early kill each in set three to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. The Wheeling lead would be short-lived, with Gannon scoring nine of the next 10 points to take a 10-4 lead over the Cardinals. When it looked like Gannon would run away with the final set, Wheeling responded with a run of their own that saw them score seven of the next eight points capped by a 3-0 run. Matus and Faro would each add kills on the run as Wheeling looked to stay alive in the match. Despite showing fight throughout the night, Gannon just kept their foot on the gas pedal and once again went streaking on a 11-2 swing. It made the set score 21-13 and the Cardinals would need another big comeback to stay alive. Faro picked up two kills over the final five Cardinal points as Wheeling got as close as 24-17. However, the comeback was not in the cards as Nehir Yazicioglu picked up the final kill of the night to bring the set score to 25-17, giving Gannon the 3-0 sweep.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Autumn King, who finished with nine kills on 29 total attacks to put up a .138 hitting percentage on the night. King continued what has been a strong season, and helped lead the comeback charge in the 9-0 Run at the end of the first set. Isabella Faro and Camryn Matus would finish right behind her with eight and six kills respectively. Faith Keifer would handle the primary passing duties, leading the way with 16 assists, while Kendall Kupper led the way with two service aces. On the defensive side, Mara McDougal led the way with 20 digs while Faro added 11Â to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, September 12, When they host Shippensburg with first serve at 1:30 PM.
